Harry Potter and the Missing Link
by AllSilentSaints
Summary: Harrys in his sixth year at Howgarts school of witchcraft and wizardry and discovers a secret thats been hidden for 16 years,a potentially dangerous secret, a very pretty secret... R for scenes in the furture.


At number 4 privet Drive, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Lawns were mowed, flower beds trimmed and nobody was by any means caught in the midst of a world changing battle against good and evil...not unless you were a 16 year old boy named Harry Potter. It was funny how good the Dursleys were at pretending Harry was a coat rack. Ever since he had gotten back from his 5th year at Hogwarts School for Witch Craft and Wizardry, they had pretended as if he were completely invisible. And it wasn't like the times before when they merely didn't talk to him if they could help it. No, the Dursleys took it to another level, not even bothering to move as they bumped into Harry in the upstairs hallway or as they sat on him on the couch.

To a normal boy this may upset him dearly, but Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy, he was a wizard. Harry had fought gigantic serpents and spiders, he had battled and somehow survived the most fowl dark wizard of all time, Harry was the seeker of the Gryffindor quidditch team, and Harry was in mortal danger. Under different circumstances Harry would have spent the summer at one of his best friend's houses, Ron Weasley, and enjoyed a fun fill summer of quidditch in the padlock and games of wizard chess in the garden. Instead he was sent for his own good back to his only living relative, his aunt petunia, to have a perfectly worrisome, lonely holiday. Yes Harry was worried; fill to the brim with anticipation. Harry was forbidden any owls, newspapers or contact with the wizarding world, for fear of interception or Harry finding out information that would prompt him to come back.

Harry had no idea what was happening, and just like last summer devoted all of his time to trying to get a hint, clue, news of what Voldermort was up to. It was like being in the eye of a tornado, one moment he was in the whirl of the ministry of Magic finally figuring out what Dumbledore knew all along, facing Voldermort for the 4th time, Sirius dying...and then he was spat out into the utter silence, quiet life of staying with the Dursleys, with strict instructions to follow and no idea of when and who would get him.

So there he was, sitting on the garden bench outside, in the sweltering afternoon sun a week before the start of term; boredom and frustration eating away at his mind. He heard a loud rumble make its way into the drive. It was Dudley, back from a cruise in the new mini cooper Uncle Vernon bought him for his birthday. Abandoning the whole diet regiment completely the Dursleys figured Dudley's weight problems would fix themselves in time. Sure he had grown a few inches during last school year, but Dudley was still roughly the size of his new mini cooper. Unperturbed, Harry watched as Dudley turn off his new automobile and squeeze out of it onto the driveway; he wouldn't have to worry about being bullied, he didn't exist to Dudley anymore. The whole situation wouldn't bother him if it wasn't for aunt petunia. Uncle Vernon and Dudley had no problem ignoring Harry but once or twice a day Harry would catch his aunt looking at him with a fearful expression, and then quickly look away as if she hadn't seen him. It was enough to get him to approach her alone when she was preparing breakfast or cleaning the den, but he might as well have talked to the garden bench for all the good it did.

With much effort Harry stood up and walked into the cool linoleum kitchen where Aunt Petunia was dressing breasts of chicken and Uncle Vernon was reading the paper.

"Do you know where Dudley is?" Uncle Vernon voice came from behind the sports section.

"He just rolled up," Harry said.

"He should be getting back from driving any moment," Aunt Petunia said.

"Right, thank you Petunia," Uncle Vernon muttered gruffly.

The front door slammed and Harry's cousin strolled in slightly winded with beads of sweat trickling down his temples.

Almost knocking Harry to the ground he made his way to the bench beside the dining room table, "What's for dinner."

"Chicken with twice baked potatoes, summer squash and biscuits, dudders," Aunt Petunia chimed, "And what would you like for drinking?"

Harry never found out what Dudders wanted to drink, he had to go upstairs, somehow he didn't feel hungry. Watching the sun set against his ceiling Harry waited for Hedwig to get back. How could he let this happen again, how could he have agreed to sit here like a good little boy while the others fought the good fight, made plans against Voldermort, or whatever was happening in the wizarding world? "Oh, that's right," Harry muttered to himself, which he was now very accustomed to doing, "Dumbledore." Dumbledore was widely considered the most powerful wizard alive, the one wizard you-know-who was ever afraid of, Harry had to trust him. Dumbledore only wanted what was best for him, he knew this, Harry just couldn't stand the feeling of foreboding and uselessness. And yet Harry wasn't really useless, just a few months ago he had discovered the simple fact of his existence, to either be killed or kill the dark lord, a fight to the finish. Harry's mind grew blank, he didn't like to think about this truth, and he slowly fell into a drifting sleep as he tried to ignore his growling stomach.

"Shhhhhh," Said the vividly brown almond shaped eyes. Harry had been snapped awake, a hand pressed firmly over his mouth. It was a girl, one he had never seen before, leaning over his bed looking at him with the most intent look upon her face.

"I brought him so you'd know it'd be alright," She whispered. Harry glanced sideways at Hedwig's cage who was now accompanied by Fawks, Dumbledore's phoenix, who was drinking gratefully from her water dish. Harry sat up and the girl promptly removed her hand.

"Did Dumbledore send you," He said hurriedly still in slight shock, "What's going on, have they caught Voldermort yet... who are you?"

She spoke quickly as if she were in a rush, "Yes, no and I'm Nagini Riddle, It's nice to finally meet you."

"Nagini Riddle," Harry said blankly.

"We have to go, now," She said, "Get your things."

Harry silently obeyed, if Dumbledore sent her, and Fawks had come too, then she must be trusted; after all she was the first person he had talked to in weeks. However, he knew what her last name must mean, and all the same was very intrigued.

"Fawks," the girl named Nagini called, and the red and gold bird fluttered to her shoulder. The girl quietly produced some rope from her satchel and tied his trunk to one end and the phoenix to the other, "Ta Hogwarts, get on." And with that Fawks was gone.

"Watch it," Nagini demanded and Harry stepped aside as she unrolled with a flourish an ancient Persian rug, "Well, saddle up."

Realizing what they were about to do Harry sat down Indian style and immediately felt as if a cold egg had been cracked on the top of his head, instantly turning the color of his surroundings.

"Ingenious, is it a stealth carpet," He couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Wizard tomb robbers used this carpet to raid pyramids in old Egypt, one of my fathers many sketchy processions I stole, but its right safe, Dumbledore checked it out. Hold on to the sides."

Harry Watched as Nagini sat down and instantly blended in with the manky wallpaper, the carpet began to vibrate and levitate, "Hogwarts," Nagini ordered firmly, and they swept out of the room. It wasn't like Harry had expected. He had planned to hold on for his life, freeze in the gushing wind that'd deafen his ears and make his eyes water, but on the contrary. They floated at alarming speeds, quit quietly, pleasantly cool. "Now we can talk," Nagini said, turning to face him lackadaisically, "Your probably wondering who I am exactly."

"Yes," is all Harry could think to say, he knew better than to jump to conclusions about people in the wizarding world. Just his third year he had thought his godfather was a cold hearted killer and it'd turned out quit the opposite.

"This is going to take a lot of explaining, so bear with me," She said plainly and cleared her throat.

"You heard me right when I said my last name was Riddle, and it means what you think. Only I knew hardly any of my father and what he is all about only until recently, or of you for that matter. It all started with you in fact, how I came to be forgotten." She took a pause at this and looked intently at Harry.

"I'm sorry," is all Harry could come up with.

"No, I should thank you really," She said and looked about.

It was a dazzling sight; stars dragging past, the moon illuminating her face. A face that looked slightly familiar. Nagini had to be about Harry's age, with short, dark brown hair, almost black. She almost looked like a fairy, but much taller. She had stunning almond shaped, heavy lidded, brown eyes; eyes he had seen once before.

"You know, we're related," She said looking back at him.

"Really," Harry said interestedly.

"Yes, I'm your godfathers, cousin's daughter."

"That's why you look so familiar," And before Harry could stop himself he added, "She killed Sirius, your mother."

"Yeah I know, Dumbledore told me," Nagini said in a low voice, "I never really liked her."

Harry picked at a spot on the carpet; he didn't like to think about Sirius.

"You know, she was married. But father always got what he wanted didn't he? No matter, they never really were true parents; I grew up in a muggle orphanage. She had me right before her mission to get information from the Longbottoms, in a random shack on the way there. I can't imagine there was a med-Wizard among the lot but there I was and I wanted out. So after a fast labor they left me in the shack, with every intention of picking me up on the way back. They were caught of coarse and I was discovered the next day, barely alive. I was brought from there to a muggle orphanage called St. Peter's House of Parentless Children, and lived there for six years. I won't say I was beaten or starved, but it was definitely very lonely, I didn't have any friends because of my weirdness.

"Weirdness," Harry asked.

"Well that's what they called it, when I'd make things happen without meaning to," Nagini continued, "And the name they had picked out for me, Sue Ann, really I'd had enough and ran away as soon as I could. From ages six to nine I did odd jobs and worked for food, shelter, I didn't need a lot, just the clothes on my back and books. Oh, how I love books, for most of that time I worked at a local library and spent my free time reading the greats, Shakespeare, Dickens, you name it. But of coarse once I had read the whole library I knew I had to move on."

"You should really meet my friend Hermione, you'd two get along great," Harry blurted out, "Oh sorry, I keep interrupting."

"It's alright, and I've already met her, I'll get to that later though. So at around nine I met a very old Witch named Madame Tilly Toke. Which was all very exciting because it explained my weirdness, I finally found where I belonged. I had traveled my way to London and she seemed lost on the street. So I asked her if she needed any help, and she said she'd forgotten where to find the leaky Cauldron. With nothing better to do I tagged along and ended up walking down the most fascinating streets and visiting the most exciting stores. And I played along as if I'd known about this whole world all along, and I asked her questions, and she told me everything. Turns out she earned an order of Merlin first class for saving a bunch of muggle from a dragon and was a very admirable, senile widow. I told her how I was an Orphan and she took me in, taught me everything. I helped her around the house, did things she couldn't do anymore like de gnoming the garden and collecting frog spawn; and she gave me food, shelter, the first and only thing I had ever recognized as love."

And then Nagini became really quiet, and looked at the horizon which was turning the slightest tint of orange.

"Around the time I turned eleven she died, it was all very sad," She said with a very hard to read expression on her pretty face, "So I took up stay at the bookstore in Diagon Alley. Flourish and Blotts."

"I've been there a few times," Harry said not sure if he should bring up the old woman and say sorry for her passing or move on, "I wonder why I never saw you."

"I was always in the back, reading by day, restocking by night. That's when I changed my name to Nagini, I read it in a book and thought it much more fitting. I read and I read and I read. I read about you and my father and everything, but never relating it to me, not knowing where I come from and such. I wasn't in the books, no one except the death eaters was aware of my mother's pregnancy or birth for that matter, I didn't really exist. And then one day I met a man, his name was Malfoy. He'd come in for some books on the dark arts and nearly had a fit when he caught a glimpse of me in the back room, asked me to have lunch with him at his manor. I did, I'd never been to such a splendid place, my ragged clothes were a bit out of place but all the same I was invited. And that's when he told me, about my past, about how his master would be so please I was finally found. About how my mother was imprisoned for a crime she hadn't committed and my father lost and ruined by his foes. He made them out to be tragic heroes, that all the horrible things I had read about him and his death eaters were wrong, and I believed him. Well, after that he insisted I stay with him, and the Malfoys and I were like family, literally in that Aunt Narcissia was, well my aunt as it turns out. And for two years I was loved and cared for and taught in secret. I couldn't go to school with Draco because no one was to know that I existed, or else fathers enemies would surely come back to kill me, said Uncle Luscious. Well, when I turned 13 I decided it was time to find him, my father. I already knew my mother was in Azkaban, so there was no hope for family there, but having a father was still possible, so I had to try. It's funny how things like that can make u turn an eye, even when the truth is starring you in the face." Harry had never met his parents, and knew he could relate.

"But I had to believe father was either set up, or wronged, that all those history books I had read were wrong, and it took me a year, but I found him. I could talk to snakes, I discovered this in my youth and used the skill to my advantage. I found him somewhere in Albany, barely a whisper of a man. And I helped him, as best I could, and he was grateful." Nagini paused and looked over the hilltops and streams they were passing, glanced at the sun peeking over the horizon, "We're nearly there," she added.

"So then what happened?" Harry asked.

"Well, you can fill in the pieces," Nagini finished, "Worm tail came and discovered Barty crouch, father became whole. I was there when they took your blood, remember? I was all excited because father promised I'd get to eat you. You see I learned back when I lived with Madame Toke to transform into an animagus, a snake. They had told me you were one of the enemy. I bit Mr. Weasley at the ministry of magic; they told me he was after something precious that was for father. And then my world shattered, and I realized the truth. Too many things didn't add up, I wasn't stupid; maybe blind sighted for the need to belong, for family, but not stupid. Father was grateful, took pride in my outstanding magical ability, but never loving. Mother, who was 'rescued' from prison was cold. Educated on what my family was really up to, I decided to flee, Just a month or more ago. I have no doubt that they know where I am, but I do not care, they are the enemy. They are the bad guys, they lied to me, they abandoned me, left me in a shed," She said very bluntly.

Hogwarts grew closer in the distance and the sun could be fully seen. "I'm so sorry," Harry began, "And I thought I had it bad being stuck at the Dursleys..."

"Don't be sorry, in fact I should be thanking you," Nagini said giving Harry a meaningful look.

"Why, what could I have done," Harry implored.

"If you hadn't been my fathers downfall, what then? He would have found me and lead me in a life of evil and dark arts, I should thank you, you're the reason I was forgotten, and I couldn't be more grateful."

"No problem," Harry said, and the carpet slide lightly to a halt right in front of the grand oak doors.


End file.
